Now that most of the mess of moving is gone, I’m finally finding time to look into the design of the rooftop patio. Huge 18 square meters want to be filled with seating, decoration and most importantly plants. My goal is to create a wonderful green oasis in which not only people and the dog feel comfortable, but also bees, butterflies and co. That means: Decorative plants such as the classic geraniums with their filled flowers are not an option, as they offer no  value for the insects. On the contrary, the animals are attracted by the colorful blossoms and then get little or no food.

Therefore, bee- and insect-friendly plants are the way to go. The most obvious thing would be to get a seed mix for bee-friendly flowers and simply sow them. The problem: Often these mixes include non-native plants that could suppress the native ones. After all, there’s only so much you can do to influence where they self-seed after they’ve flowered. Instead, I opted for individual plants that will soon be greening the patio in pots and containers.

Various Herbs

Melissa, thyme and co. don’t just look good in human food. They also provide food for bees and can even be placed on a windowsill 😉

Lavender

The purple flowers smell wonderful for us humans and bees alike. In addition, they create a Mediterranean flair. The same is true for the vanilla flower.

Fan Flower

The canopy also needs something. Preferably a hanging plant, whose shoots hang far down. The blue-purple fan flower with its up to one meter long tendrils is just the right one.